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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. board — to get on
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. shower — to wash
  5. season — of the year
  6. cell — in biology
  7. press — newspapers
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. scale — in music
  10. shower — rain
  11. kid — child
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. press — to push
  14. rash — a series
  15. rash — hasty
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. press — a publisher
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. board — a committee
  21. kid — to tease
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. scale — size or range
  24. season — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com